What’s New in Halloween Books

Halloween ABC by Jannie Ho
(board book)
For those of you Halloween aficionados (you know who you are), share your enthusiasm with your kids starting young. This book will help. H for haunted house, M for mummy, R is for run, and T for trick or treat. Bright colors and clean illustrations.

B is for Boo: A Halloween Alphabet (Babylit) by Greg Paprocki
(board book)
The vintage (retro) artwork and style of this Halloween alphabet book feel cozy, not scary with pages filled with treats, costumes, and other Halloween words.

Absolutely lovely.

Boo Who? by Ben Clanton
Who can’t relate to being new and feeling invisible? Boo is new and literally invisible. Not only that, he has trouble playing most games — because of being invisible. Tag doesn’t work. Neither does basketball. But he’s happy to learn that Hide-and-Seek works perfectly! Muted colors show expressive characters pairing perfectly with this sweet story about fitting in. A great story for anytime of year, not just Halloween season.

Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler, illustrations by Will Terry
Bonaparte is losing all his bones. (Get it? He’s a bone-losing skeleton!) His friends, Franky Stein, Blacky Widow, and Mummicula try to help him but their glue, web, and bandages don’t help. When they see a dog with a bone, the friends realize that the bone loving dog is just what Bonaparte needs. Now he can go to school with confidence.

Little Monster wants to be in a scary story. In a conversation between he and the narrator, Little Monster maybe needs the story to be less scary, maybe a funny story instead. And the story actually turns out to be both scary and funny for Little Monster and for us, the readers.

I LOVE this book! Kids get ready to be immersed in the stinky, loud, interactive world of monster-kind. Each page instructs you to do something to prepare for the next page’s monster — hold your nose, be very quiet, plug your ears. And get ready for the big ending! There are many interactive books on the market right now that feel contrived and predictable. Not this one. I’m very impressed. It’s a favorite of 2017.

Herbert’s First Halloween by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Steven Henry
Little Herbert is unsure about this whole Halloween thing. So his dad gently introduces him to the idea. After making him a tiger costume, the two make their own carved pumpkin. Trick or Treating goes so well, Herbert is excited about next year. It’s a quiet celebration that will help children feel more comfortable about the holiday.

Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
Jasper’s mom to buy him a pair of big boy underwear. But the underwear are CREEPY. They glow in the dark. So Jasper (who isn’t scared at all!) tries and tries to get rid of them. But no matter what he does, they come right back! Finally, he’s successful after burying them on a hill. That’s when he realizes he misses his creepy underwear and wants them back. A clever combination of silly and creepy both in this story for all year round.

The children dream of snatching and eating the pomegranates but how can they when it’s owned by . . . The Pomegranate, Pomegranate, Pomegranate Witch? The battle lines are drawn. Just when you think you know what will happen, you are surprised! Delicious words and sensory images weave together in a wonderful new Halloween favorite story.

Grimelda and the Spooktacular Pet Show by Diana Murray, illustrated by Heather Ross
To win the pet show, Grimelda must make her pet spooktacular. Of course, first she must find her spell book. And then the right pet. But, things go wonky at the pet show and Grimelda turns her cat into an even cuter cat. Whoops. Now what will happen!?

The Wompananny Witches Make One Mean Pizza by Jennie Palmer
The Wompananny Witches love cooking but are terrified by children. They accidentally put their feelings of fear and terror into a pizza; a pizza that escapes and wreaks havoc on the neighborhood. The witches must face their fears (children) and help the children stop the Mean Pizza. You’ll love the humor and sweet message of courage and friendship. This is another book that works year round, not just on Halloween.

The I’m Not Scared Bookby Todd Parr
This book talks about what things are scary and when those same things are not — “Sometimes I’m scared of dogs // I’m not scared when they give me kisses.” Parr makes it okay to feel scared then shifts the perspective to see those things in a new way. Read this book about emotions anytime of year.